Out of the Ashes of the Spirit of Fire
by Gaia caecilia
Summary: As they are rebuilding Hogwarts after the final battle an impossibly beautiful man turns up claiming to be both Godric Gryffindor and Maedhros Feanorion, wanting to check up on hist castle.
1. Chapter 1

Out of the Ashes of the Spirit of Fire

One short story of an odd plot bunny that hit me over christmas. And yes, i am not dead, just mostly writing original fiction right now. I do have several finfics, as well as my Original Stories in progress that may or may not ever be finished. Anyway, on with the story!

Part 1

The reconstruction teams stood on guard as a tall, beautiful red headed male strolled up the main driveway. He was undoubtedly male for all his physical beauty, waist length hair and incredibly graceful air. Ice blue eyes that were enough to make many girls swoon swept the semi-restored destruction though the sculpted face of impossibly perfect proportions showed no expression as far as anyone could see.

As he neared them Harry stepped forward, battle ready and wand out.

"Halt, identify yourself and your reason for being here!" The perfect face stared at him incredulously, with a hint of humour to the expression.

"Who are you to challenge me?" The males asked in a voice as lovely as his visage, an odd melodious lilt to it. Harry resisted the urge to check behind him to make sure none of the girls were swooning. There was a distinct tone of amused disbelief to the question. Harry narrowed his eyes at the male (he was sure this person could not be human – despite a basically human form there was something distinctly inhuman about it – starting with the incredibly perfect beauty).

"I believe I asked first, and am the one holding the weapon." So far the red-head appeared unarmed.

Giving a bark of melodic laughter the male held his hands out in front of him and was suddenly holding a highly familiar sword.

"I am Godric Gryffindor and my reason for being here? I've been travelling for a few _yen_ _i_ and wanted to check up on my castle." He grinned at the gaping teenagers. "And on that note, who are you to challenge me, and what in Eru's name has happened to my castle?"

He smirked slightly at the gaping adolescents, though a part of him wondered and worried that a group of children to his view, seemed as if battle hardened veterans. Men trained their young at an early mage for battle, or they had in years gone by, but even so they rarely seemed as battle hardened as this lot. Then the dark haired boy who was clearly the leader's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Can you prove that claim, because, you know, you are looking damn good for a man who is apparently more than a thousand years old." Gryffindor laughed again, sounding deeply amused.

"A thousand? Closer to nine thousand actually, well if you count chronologically from my birth without subtracting the time I was dead. I spent many _yeni_ in Mandos' halls so I suppose those could be subtracted from that time making my age close to four thousand. And surely the sword is just a bit of a give away?" The black haired boy continued to glare.

"I've seen a fake of it rather recently so..." He sheathed the sword in a magically appearing sheath at his waist, chuckling and shaking his head in amusement. "I would be highly impressed with anyone who truly could replicate the work of the Spirit of Fire." His tone clearly belied that he didn't believe it possible.

"Spirit of Fire?" Asked a curly haired girl beside curiously, though he noted she was also battle ready and armed.

"My thankfully late and totally unlamented father. It was the rather apt translation of his name. Ironic he was killed by a fire demon." The last comment was said somewhat as an amused aside. The girl looked at him with the fire of all too familiar curiosity.

"The books say it is goblin forge." He burst out laughing, having to sit down with the force of the chortles racking his tall frame.

"Oh Valar! What I wouldn't pay to see my father's face if someone told him that." He eventually choked out between near hysterical laughter. After some time the laughter petered off into intermittent chuckles and he rose impossibly gracefully, still grinning with amusement. "Sorry, but that was one of the funniest things I've heard in longer than I can remember."

The girl looked somewhere between curious and offended. It was at that point a much older lady in a sever dress strode authoritatively out of the battered castle and stopped a little behind the group of battle ready teens. Before she said anything the boy who had first addressed him spoke, not looking away.

"He says he's Godric Gryffindor, Professor." She startled and then turned to him, eyes narrowing.

"What is your real name?" The teens seemed to approve of the question, not really understanding what he suspected she was asking. He raised an elegant red eyebrow at her to see if the question was indeed what he thought it was. She smiled tightly.

"And why do you ask me that?" He asked in a quiet voice. She swallowed at the dangerous power in that smooth voice but bravely stared into his icy eyes as she answered him.

"It was a secret passed down amongst the heads of Hogwarts that at some time Godric Gryffindor might return, no older than the day he founded Hogwarts with his three friends. There are certain pieces of information that are part of the secrets of the heads of Hogwarts that can be used to identify if it is the true Godric Gryffindor should he return." He nodded with a smile at the older woman as the teens looked utterly surprised. "So I repeat, what is your true name?"

He bowed his head to her in a gesture of respect.

"I am Maedhros Feanorion, firstborn son of Feanor, Spirit of Fire and second high king of the Noldor. I was the one who willingly gave up the title of High King to my uncle, recognising that I was unsuitable to be King in light of my oath. I am in this world as penance for my crimes in my first life, bound to improve the lives of Mortals wherever I travel in recompense for the many crimes I committed in the name of my father, compelled as I was by his oath, sworn in hatred of Morgoth and Mortals. Upon being reborn and dropped here I made friendship with Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff whom I offered my skills as the heir to the greatest smiths in the history of my people to aid in their quest to build a school which would cause betterment for mortals for many an age to come. I left upon the deaths of my friends to continue my penance around the world and return now to see the state of my first and greatest work, which is, incidentally abominable." The woman snorted with laughter.

"Indeed my Lord Gryffindor. I am sure if you got bored enough you could recite off the rest of the secret information too." He laughed.

"Obviously, but then it wouldn't be secret would it? If one thing we Noldor know its how to keep secrets, we kept them from _gods._ " There was more than one raised eyebrow at that. "It is part of a story to tell in the great hall after good food and drink, in a convivial atmosphere. It looks like some repairs are needed before we can do that though." He said, eyeing the damaged castle.

"How are you still alive though?" Asked one of the group of teenagers, the Maedhros did not turn to see which. "I mean, how can you be nine _thousand_ years old?"

Still examining the castle, he pointed to himself absently.

"Elf. What you would call a high elf. We're not native to this world, to my knowledge, I am the only one. As I said I am here as penance for about five hundred years of seriously pissing off the deities of my world, as well as a few major crimes in there. Apparently killing other elves is seriously looked down on, compelled by magical oath or not." The dark haired boy snorted with laughter. A quick glance showed he had finally lowered his wand, probably at the confirmation he was who he said he was. The bushy haired girl was staring at him as if she couldn't quite believe something. Maedhros quirked an eyebrow ate her, making the girl blush.

"Are you Maedhros Feanorion as in the Silmarillion?" He grinned.

"Muggleborn or raised, am I right?" She nodded, face a little guarded. "Yes. I fought beside a young mister Tolkien during the first world war and shared my life story with him, as well as much of my world. It was fun reminiscing. I was a tad surprised when he published his own record of my assorted rambling as fantasy novels. Pity he was mostly definitely not my brother when it came to writing prose." The girl snorted with laughter.

"Reading the Silmarillion was a bit of a chore. More so than the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I am guessing you are aware how popular those books are in the Muggle World?" He nodded.

"I am, I also desperately want to send certain elves back some of the pictures you mortals have made of them, just for the laugh of seeing their reactions." The girl snorted and they shared a grin between the baffled humans who clearly were not Tolkien fans. She looked about to ask more questions so he held up his hand and concentrated before speaking a few words in Quenya softly, smiling as the rocks of the battered castle rose up and returned to the place they had been before the Battle of Hogwarts, to the shocked surprise of those there. Broken rocks repaired themselves as the castle restored itself. He grinned at the stunned humans.

"When we were building the castle I reminisced upon the curse the Valar place upon my people upon our revolt, that everything we build would come crumbling down. Salazar felt he didn't want to risk the curse still being upon my reborn self and so we worked an extra layer or magic into the stones as we built. It allowed, upon speaking of the correct phrase in my native language, for the castle to restore itself." They were all still staring at the newly restored castle. The girl managed a question however, something that didn't surprise him at all.

"That must involve a lot of power, _hir nin_." He outright grinned at the sindarin address.

"The castle is a power sink, amongst other things. All spells cast leave a slight power residue which usually defuses into the atmosphere, creating 'atmospheric' magic. The young are particularly inefficient in their casting, wasting much magic, particularly when learning a new spell, or when emotional. The castle was designed to, instead of letting the excess defuse into the atmosphere, to store it like a battery. There were two parts to this enchantment, one which fuels the wards, another that stored magic for repairs. If the latter were full all power goes into the wards, strengthening them, but if the castle had to use some or all of its magic for repairs then the absorbed magic would shunt to refill that store primarily while keeping enough to keep the primary wards up. That store was further separated up into standard repair and a larger section necessary for magic such as I have just initiated. The former obviously is a continuous thing that needs no initiation, unlike the latter." Hermione was holding on to his every word.

"So there is some sort of set up in the ward stones, or the castle itself, that absorbs extra magic? That must have been quite the enchantment!" She breathed in awe. "Is it just excess magic from spells or are there other ways it gets its magic as well?"

He smiled at her.

"It also absorbs magic produced by all those adolescent temper tantrums that are bound to happen in such a place like this. Before Hogwarts there was often the problem of people being hurt or injured by teenagers loosing their temper and letting out huge amounts of excess, uncontrolled magic. Hogwarts herself absorbs that magic to prevent harm." For some reason all the teens grinned at the boy who had first addressed him. "I sense a story here."

They all laughed.

"Harry more than once lost his temper at school, Admitted he usually had a good reason, though I have to say that effect you mentioned didn't seem to do Dumbledore much good after Harry's godfather died. I hear Harry wrecked his office in that temper tantrum." Maedhros looked at the boy with a grin.

"You must be powerful – though it sounds as if we would get on well. I'm not noted for being a temperate character. Not as bad as my father though, but then again I am not a psychopathic narcissistic spoilt brat with mummy issues so that is no surprise." Harry gave him a jaundiced look.

"You don't sound very fond of him." Maedhros and the girl both snorted.

"My father destroy an entire elven city, killing many of its inhabitants because the king would not give us his ships. He bound my brothers and I in a magical oath from which I still have no relief which led us to slaughter our way through two cities of our own people, commit atrocities and eventually be killed driven by that oath. If he had mummy issues it is probably safe to say I have daddy issues, if rather justifiably." Harry snorted.

" _Hir Maedhros_?" He turned to the girl who had asked the question with a tolerant smile. "Do the humans of this world count as aftercomers, especially wizards? Because we're not brood of Morgoth or bright Vala, or Elda or Maia. And I don't think we count as aftercomers either, because we aren't in Arda." He stared at her, his eyes going wide, and then his face split into a wide smile of absolute pleasure and he placed a hand over his heart and bowed deeply to her with profound respect. She blushed.

"Your name lady?" He breathed.

"Hermione." Blue eyes shined with the light of the two trees.

" _Hiril_ Hermione, will you say the words?" He asked quietly, eyes fixing the girl in place with their intensity. She nodded before taking a deep breath.

"Maedhros son of Feanor, prince of the Noldor, I absolve you, your brothers and all bound by the Oath of Feanor of said oath to live your lives freely. So mote it be. _Valar Valuvar._ " They all saw a sort of gold glow surround the ancient elf for a moment and he sighed, entire being relaxing minutely. He bowed again to her.

" _Hanon le_ , thank you from the depths of my heart, Lady Hermione. Your words are a gift I cannot repay enough." She had gone bright pink. Everyone else was staring at them. As red haired boy asked first.

"What the hell was that about?" Ignoring Hermione's huffed ' _Ron'_ (he guessed that was the boy's name) Maedhros turned intense icy eyes on the boy who stuttered into silence under the dark regard of the elven prince. Maedhros didn't speak, watching the boy become more and more uncomfortable. After a long while he turned to the group at large.

"My father, after the murder of my Grandfather, first High King of the Noldor by Morgoth, a fallen Valar (my people's gods), and Morgoth's subsequent theft of the Silmarils, my Father spoke a terrible and irrevocable oath, my brothers and I repeating it with him like the naive little fools we were. He made it irrevocable by default of listing in the oath those who could not counter our actions to fulfil the oath. The lady Hermione just pointed out the loop hole my being in this world opens and revoked the oath, not just for me but for all those of us caught in it. It is a most precious gift to me, to be freed of its affects." Hermione both blushed and beamed at the regard she was getting.

"Shall we go inside? I believe the castle should have finished repairing itself."

XXX

That evening Maedhros was holding court in the newly restored great hall, all those who had been helping rebuild the castle, as well as a number who had seemed to appear from somewhere during the time since he had arrived. The house elves of course had been delighted at the return of the founder and somehow had summoned up a feast for them.

It was a convivial atmosphere formed by the contentment of many young with full bellies happily listening to an elder tell them tales of times long gone by and places a long time ago. The Elf Prince was beginning to see why his brother had so enjoyed being an entertainer if his audiences were all like this.

Then there was a blaze of light and a tall figure, even more stunningly gorgeous than Maedhros himself, appeared with a beautiful and wry smile. The elf's expression hardened as he rose to stand, not quite glaring at the new and impressive figure.

"Lord Eönwë. To what do I owe this pleasure?" His tone heavily implied that he wasn't sure that it was indeed a pleasure. The maia just smiled at him.

"We felt the absolving of the oath, and Lord Namo saw in the halls of the dead those that suffer under it change, finally accepting judgement and the healing that comes with it. As such there was much discussion, and it has been decided that your punishment for your transgressions has been fulfilled. You may now return to Valinor I am to inform you." Maedhros stared at him.

"Seriously? Now? Come back in a decade or so. I am needed here right now." Eönwë stared at him in shock. There were several moments of silence.

"Pardon?"

"I have just returned to Britain, the place you sent me to first to lend aid to, to find that the civilisation I helped form, probably the greatest work of my reparations, has all gone to pot due to some meglomaniac. The entire society is in need of rebuilding and my position means I am able to use my considerable influence, and frankly forceful personality, to rebuild it to the society my friends and I had hoped for. I am going nowhere until I am sure this society no longer needs me to mother them back to health. As I said, come back in a decade or so." The maia blinked a few times in shock then grinned boyishly, making the hearts of every female in the room flutter Maedhros noted grimly.

"I see your reparation had more effect than simply repayment. Very well, I will return to this place in a decade to return you to your people." He bowed slightly, bottomless eyes twinkling mischievously as he dropped into Quenya, knowing only the elf understood it. " _While you're at it, why don't you see if you can find a wife? That offer of the Valar still stands until you return home."_

Maedhros blushed as red as his hair as the maia disappeared. Hermione was staring at him with wide eyes, though everyone else was staring at the space the maia had recently been occupying.

"He's the messenger of the Valar isn't he? And you turned him down, just so you could help wizarding Britain." He smiled softly at the girl, who he was swiftly coming to like, and not just because he felt he owed her. He laughed.

"I have never had much truck with the Valar at the best of times. Telling me to come home when the job is unfinished is clumsy of them at best. They should know me better. Whatever the job, wrong or right, I will finish it." The people in the hall made a sort of agreeing rumble many of the former gryffindors nodding in approval. A man who had been introduced the Maedhros as 'Professor Slughorn' smiled ingratiatingly at him.

"But I am guessing we will not find out what he said that made you blush so, Lord Gryffindor?" Maedhros gave the man a look and curled his lip.

"Nope, I had enough of the Ainur trying to humiliate my family before the rise of the sun and the moon. I have no intention of allowing them to carry on their favourite game." Hermione coughed.

"If Tolkien's work is accurate, that isn't entire fair. You father just didn't like his remarrying and then didn't like them punishing for attacking his brother." Maedhros observed her for a second before throwing out a general question.

"Does she always insist on being uncomfortably right?" The snorts of laughter told him that she was. Hermione looked down and blushed. He could see her wilting sadly and her rose, stepped over to her and lifted her chin so she was forced to look into his eyes. "I did not mean that maliciously, Lady, I simply did not react well to having my prejudices pointed out. It was not personal."

He ran a thumb across her cheek gently looking into her eyes and refusing to let go of her gaze until she nodded.

"Good, I have no intention of hurting you." He kissed her forehead gently before returning to his seat, aware everyone had watched the exchange. He swept eyes over the group piercingly and he let his aura out a little to impress on them a little more. "And any who thinks to tease I would remind you that, no words are _just_ words. Whether you think of them so or not, they can harm and do hurt when flung carelessly, even more so when deliberately. If I find anyone has been hurt by any of you after this warning, I will display that elfin justices is a little more… brutal… than human. I will not be nice." There were serious nods and he thought he had got through to most of them with his warning. Hermione was looking at him with shinning eyes and a small smile. She knew he had been defending her.


	2. Chapter 2

Out of the Ashes of the Spirit of Fire

Part 2

Maedhros sat in an out of the way window seat at Hogwarts, staring out across the grounds he was helping to restore broodingly. He'd forgotten how much he dislike politicians and most of the remaining ones in the wizarding world were particularly spineless. One called Cornelius Fudge he'd not been able to resist putting the fear of the Eldar into him by going full elf prince on the hapless man, who had run away and promptly announced his retirement from politics. Harry, Hermione and many of the others involved in the restoration of Hogwarts had laughed themselves sick at him doing that.

Someone sat down beside him. He did not need to look to see it was Hermione. He softly greeted her in Quenya and she responded. He'd spent many evenings teaching her the language, and Sindarin, at her own request. He found he rather enjoyed her company. Her enthusiasm was entertaining and he enjoyed gently stripping the remains of her reverence for authority and books. It was fun watching her bloom under his gentle tutorage. It almost seemed as if he was the only one who went out of his way to build her up as a person, not try to break her into what they expected of her.

"What are you thinking?" She asked quietly.

"Nothing much, just trying not to be too frustrated by the utter morons who you call politicians." She laughed softly and they fell into silence again. "Something weighs on your mind, Nólëwen."

As she always did, she smiled at the _epesse_ he had given her, meaning 'knowledgeable maiden' roughly. She rather liked it, especially when he explained the root word he had chosen was specific to knowledge of lore, both because it sounded best of the Quenya options, and because he felt it fit her best.

"I have to organise going to Australia some time soon." He turned to stare at her in surprise. "I need to try and retrieve my parents, something I have already put off too long." His eyebrow rose expressively at her and so she explained her… novel approach to keeping her parents safe during the war.

"I should warn you that is likely unrepairable." he said quietly. It wasn't the most comforting thing but he knew one thing she valued was his honesty. The ancient elf prince always said what he thought, even at the expense of tact, if he felt something needed saying. He also knew when not to say something.

"I know."

"You should use my house there as a base, it will make things easier for you." It was Hermione's turn to stare at him. "Where do you think I was before returning to Scotland?" He smiled at the gaping girl.

"I was part of combined magical and non-magical law enforcement unit there, rather more unobtrusive than what I am doing now. I still have a house there. I was technically on leave, but after Eönwë's visit I sent in my notice. My house is still there and I really should go and clean up my affairs over there actually. If you can wait until after the investiture, we can go together and I can use my contacts to help you find them, and see if I can get help restoring their memory." She blinked at him and then her face lit up in a smile.

"I would like that." Maedhros smiled and then lifted an arm in offering. Hermione stared at it in surprise before nervously taking the offer and curling against his side.

"Elves are a more tactile race than humans, and you looked like you could do with a hug." She smiled and curled in further.

"I could get used to having a guy who can actually hug around. Harry and Ron get all awkward whenever I hug them." He laughed softly.

"They are teenage boys. It practically comes with the territory. I never understand what human males of this age have against physical contact. I remember the days when it was proper for lords to greet each other with a kiss. On the lips." Hermione snorted with laughter, imagining Harry and Ron's response to _that_. "When I left Valinor at least, and I think it unlikely it has changed, tradition was still very much along those lines. There were several types of kisses dependant on the situation which were used as forms of greeting and only the warriors' kiss was gender specific, as women couldn't become warriors in those days." Hermione was silently giggling. He grinned, pleased to have raised her mood.

Slowly the conversation meandered off in the way of friends, Hermione never noticing how she curled further and further into the elf's chest.

XXX

Maedhros and Hermione of course had to be at Kingsley's inauguration as new Minister for Magic. After a successful emergency term as Minister, he had been confirmed by popular acclaim, aka an election. Hermione was of the opinion it was slightly rigged but didn't complain much about the rigging for the simple reason that it quite reasonably banned all convicted criminals from voting, and then the election was held until all the Death Eaters were tried and convicted.

True popular election was one of the things that had been agreed on quite early. While previous ministers for magic had been 'elected' that was a somewhat nominal term. The process itself was quite involved and mostly involved members of the Wizengamot, not the population generally. The terms of office had also not only been an elective dictatorship, but one with a very long term. The term had been shortened to five years, with a restriction meaning no more than two terms could be served consecutively. Hermione particularly had searched through various bits of muggle democracies to work out the best version of checks and balances she could.

The Wizengamot wasn't scraped, because international treaties they wanted to keep would have been broken if the Wizengamot had been scrapped so they settled for vast reform until most of what was left was the name and the heavily enchanted meeting chamber. In in all, the eventual new government set up was quite complicated but worked reasonably well. As soon as Maedhros was sure it wasn't going to blow up in their faces and shouldn't need too many kicks in the near future, he and Hermione took off for Australia for some muggle hunting.

XXX

Maedhros smirked as his former colleagues took to Hermione easily, while giving him looks the he knew meant they had assumed she was his girlfriend. A part of him blushed at the idea. A large part of him was convinced he wasn't destined for a mate. Another was mentally considering the girl as an option. She was far from shallow enough to be attracted to him for his physical appearance or the fact he was the idolised 'lord Gryffindor'. He'd had a lot of girls and women trying to flirt with him since he had strolled up to the castle on that summer day for those reasons alone. Reasons for which he hadn't revealed his wealth, or the offer the Valar had given him regarding his wife should he take one.

Hermione had smiled and charmed his colleagues and it had taken them very little time between the magical and non-magical methods specialised in this office to track down her parents.

They went to visit her parents during the night, using a few spells the office used to subtly track down magical criminals in the muggle world to remain unseen and unnoticed. Hermione had blanched slightly at using the specialised wards stones that had been been nicknamed 'St Nick Stones' as they created a time pocket for a lack of a better description. Basically a split moment in which the investigators were stuck as long as they remained inside the ward stones. At the office was a portal they could enter and leave through. While they were in the split moment they could explore the house however much they liked, and the inhabitants would never know.

In this case the split moment was being used so Hermione and Maedhros could go through and see what they could repair of Hermione's parents' memories. They had also brought the mind healer of Maedhros's unit to make sure they didn't accidentally do something wrong.

Several hours later, the healer gave her a commiserating look. Hermione, as ever had done too well. She hadn't simply blocked their memory, it was destroyed beyond the point of repair, but very _very_ precisely. In other words she had removed all memory of the magical world, and replaced it with vanilla memories perfectly and there was no way to return their minds to what it had been before.

Maedhros led the distraught girl through the portal after the healer. The healer quietly offered to explain to his waiting colleagues while he took her home.

As soon as they were safely ensconced in Maedhros's house on the beach a way out from any popular tourist spot. It was a beautiful, large building on a large estate, far away from anywhere. Hermione didn't notice any of that though as she collapsed crying against the ancient elf lord. Maedhros simply wrapped an arm round her, picked her up bridal style and took her inside before sitting down and tucking her into his lap to let her cry herself out.

XXX

Several hours later, after a sleep and food (half heartedly eaten by Hermione), the two were sat on the Bali bed out on Maedhros's strip of beach, snuggled together as Hermione took the offered comfort from the elf lord.

"What do you intend to do now?" He asked quietly.

"I suppose I will leave the muggle world entirely, there is nothing left for me there now." She said softly, looking down.

"But you do not really want to fully be part of the wizarding world?" He asked quietly.

"I don't fit in there, not much more than I did in the muggle world. I will always be Harry's sidekick and the brains of the operation but still the sidekick. I know how this goes. I am going to be measured as 'doing well for someone not raised in our world' and by my relationship to Harry. I know we are changing prejudices but all the same. I just want to be acknowledged for _me_. I don't want to spend the rest of my life being considered lesser just because of my parentage, or being patronised because of my gender as well. I know witches are expected to marry and define themselves by their men. The wizarding world is quite backwards like that. I will be even more stood out as weird if I refuse to fall into the mould." Maedhros snorted and nodded.

There were several moments of silence.

"Hermione?" He asked cautiously. She looked up at him enquiringly. "Would you like to live in Valinor?"

She stared at him.

"But I would have to be immortal!" He smiled lopsidedly at her. Then he blushed slightly.

"You remember when Eönwë came to Hogwarts, that last comment he made in Quenya so only I could understand it?" She nodded. "He was reminding me of the one boon the Valar granted me when they sent me here, one I thought I would never use."

She was staring at him with wide, enchanted eyes, fascinated by the story he was telling. He found he rather liked being the centre of her attention.

"They felt it would be unnecessarily cruel to send me to a world of humans only considering I am unbonded, even considering this is my penance, so they granted that, should I marry my mate would be made an elf so I would not have to see her age and die. I personally feel they feared that such a thing would send me right back to madness. Either way, should I take a human mate in this world they would be made an Elf and when I return to Valinor they would return with me." She stared at him and her had trouble reading her expression as she took in the implication of the statement. It was quite some time before she finally responded.

"Are you asking what I think you are?" She almost stuttered, sounding like she couldn't quite believe it. He raised a hand to caress her face.

"I am offering you the chance to live in Valinor, and become an elf, if you so wish. You would have to marry me, the catch I suppose since it might make fitting in a little difficult. I doubt six thousand years has changed their views towards me much, even with a long penance paid. You would still probably have to deal with a number of opinion based on your husband..." He trailed off as she placed a delicate finger on his lip.

"At least it would be for something I chose for once. And you are speaking like being married to you is a bad thing." He gave her a look as if to imply this was obviously the case.

"I can understand the attraction to those who are shallower than a sahara puddle," she smiled at the idiom, "but I fail to see why anyone else would want to marry a jaded old kinslayer with more issues than playboy mag."

This time Hermione did burst out laughing. She pushed him onto his back, pinning his shoulders down with her weight as she smiled at him.

"Because you are a highly intelligent, wonderful, kind, perceptive person who is delightfully protective of what and who he cares about, know just when to be gentle and when not, and happens to manage all that and still be drop dead gorgeous." He laughed deprecatingly.

"You obviously do not know me as well as I thought you did." She put a finger to his lips.

"Stop belittling yourself – you won't let me talk myself down, so I'm not going to let you do. You are too busy trying to see what's bad to see what's good." She smirked wickedly and leant forward to kiss the elf, feeling his shock as she did. "I certainly have no problems with the idea of marrying you, and I am pretty sure I am significantly less shallow than a puddle, regardless of geography."

He gaped slightly as she kissed him again, before trailing kisses down the side of his cheek, hands moving and undoing his shirt as she went.

It didn't take long for his self control to snap utterly and he flipped her over, hands wondering with all the skill one would expect from an elven prince and skilled craftsman.

XXX

Maedhros lay, one arm round Hermione, the other holding the note that had simply appeared. The girl in his arms finally stirred after a well earned sleep.

"Maedhros?" She asked sleepily.

"I am of the opinion the maia are having altogether too much fun." She took the note out of his hands. It simply read:

"When she we elfize her, now or later? E"

Hermione raised an eyebrow up at him.

"What does that mean?" Suddenly Maedhros winced.

"Ah, I haven't told you about elven marriage rights yet, have I?" The eyebrow rose a little higher. "Erm, all that is necessary for us to be bonded, our souls bound together for eternity was, well, to, um, lay together." He winced, expecting an explosion of righteous anger. He started at the snort of laughter and badly suppressed giggling. Hermione had a hand covering her mouth and her eyes sparkled as she giggled. It was a rather attractive look on her.

"A part of me says I should be at least sheepish but I find I cannot bring myself to be." He smiled at her.

"I still do not understand what you see in me." She gave him an arch look and her lips twisted into a wicked smile.

"Well, its regrettably not presently in me. And there was me thinking elves were supposed to have superior stamina." He gave her an offended gasp as a hand ran down his side invitingly. He kissed her hard as his own hands began to wonder. He was not going to take that challenge lying down!

XXX

A small group of maia, including Eönwë, pulled back somewhat.

"Shall we leave them to in until they are somewhat more able to think about answering? I don't think we are going to get much sense at the moment." The two maia either side sniggered as they drew back.

"Bets on how much of a wave she is going to cause when she gets to Valinor?" He asked earning grins from the other two. "Will the Valar allow them to keep their wizarding magic when they get there?"

Eönwë smiled.

"My Lord believes that allowing that will liven things up somewhat." The other two gave him arch looks. The darker of the two answered him.

"No offence intended captain, but your lord has a very strange sense of humour." Eönwë laugh.

"Maranwë, if you are only working that out now, you are slower than I thought you were." All three laughed as they observed the couple from afar, respecting their privacy while waiting for the moment to go get the girl for her species change. Privately Eönwë had to commend the son of Feanor for his taste in mates.

XXX

Eönwë smirked at the two of them as he sprawled in an un-maia-like way across one of Maedhros's couches.

"So have you two decided when you wish us to take Lady Hermione to become an elf?" He knew already, having been watching them as they had discussed it but the maia wasn't going to mention that, especially since he was pretty sure they'd rather the illusion that the conversation (and the rest of their activities for the last few days) were private. The two looked at each other before Maedhros answered.

"We were thinking of returning to England and having a formal wedding in the style of the British warding community and thought it best for either Hermione to go just before or just after that. We need to explain to them first or they will never believe it and since we intend to spend several years more here sorting out the wizarding world before leaving for Valinor it is important that they accept my wife is an elf, or at least will be." Eönwë nodded.

"That makes sense. Can I recommend before the wedding? Lord Manwë informed your mother, and the Noldorin royal family both of your imminent return and your rather more imminent marriage. A number of them have expressed as desire to welcome your wife into the family. Your mother _suggested_ that it would be an idea that she be turned into an elf some days before the wedding and, as per elven tradition, she stay with he mother in law for the last few days before the wedding, especially as she has no kin of her own." Maedhros had smiled at the emphasis the maia had put on the word 'suggested'. His mother had been the quieter and less strong willed of his parents but, well, the other one was Feanor. She had had to have been a rather strong personality to not have been utterly consumed by her fiery husband, as the fact she had not followed him to destruction showed. A lump formed in his throat at the thought that she clearly still loved him despite him abandoning her for his father's fool's quest. Unlike her, he had been utterly destroyed by his father's burning personality and had been left as smouldering ashes on the wind.

The red haired elf turned to his beloved, knowing better than to answer for her. He had seen both his father and grandfather make the same mistake more than once, not to mention his younger brother. She looked a little pale. It only took him a moment to work out why and quietly moved to reassure her about his mother.

"My mother is lovely, beloved. And she is more likely to thank you for accepting me despite, well, everything than take against you. I'm still honestly surprised that she clearly still loves me after all I did. She just wants to meet that lady the finally caught my heart. I know she will love you." Hermione didn't look all that convinced.

"But she is a princess and I am still a commoner!" Both elf and maia snorted, knowing the Lady Nerdanel rather better than that.

"She is the daughter of one of the original elfin smiths, the one that taught my father, Mahtan. She once descibed the ladies of grandfather's court and 'vapid vultures'. That was after one of them made the mistake of implying in front of her that father could do better than a smith's daughter. If anything you two would get on over making rude comments about the high born. I am informed she went back to live with her father after father left." Hermione relaxed after that. She let out a breath, nodding.

"Okay so we have a plan. We get back to England, plan our wedding and then maybe a week or so before I go off to Valinor or wherever to become and elf and then spend the time between becoming and elf and marrying you formally with your mother. We then get a flying visit of any elves who want to see us marry to this world. We stick around until we have sorted out the problems of the wizarding world as much as is possible and then finally go settle in Valinor properly." Eönwë smiled, rather having taken to the young woman. She would be good for Feanor's eldest.

XXX

They arrived back in England just in time for the one year anniversary ball to commemorate Harry's victory over Voldemort. They had sent ahead confirming that they were coming but made sure few saw them before the ball, wanting to surprise the wizarding world.

Hermione had tried to complain when Maedhros had insisted on getting her a bespoke gown in his own personal colours, loudly announcing her as his. She hadn't bothered though, when he had also custom made her jewellery including a circlet rather than a tiara that was as much an announcement of her status as his wife (if one knew enough about elfin traditions to recognise it, which none of the humans did but never mind) as the dress.

Maedhros had hired a magical carriage to take them to the ball, much as most of the VIPs at the event had. When they arrived the press were busy trying to interview Harry and Ginny, the former looking as if he wanted a way to escape. The look of gratitude on his face when the carriage drew up was almost comical, and even more so when the press realised it was Godric Gryffindor inside and turned on mass to try and get a scoop with the elf who was one of the few people who was as big a celebrity as Harry, not to mention even more elusive.

They went crazy when he offered his hand to Hermione and helped her out of the carriage, offering his arm to her in a gentlemanly manner. She smiled brightly at him, ignoring the press who were going crazy with both cameras and questions, and planted a delicate kiss near his mouth receiving a gentle smile in return.

He then led her up to the couple at the top of the stairs, both Harry and Ginny looking alternately poleaxed and relieved, though the latter dropped off as they returned to press attention with Hermione and Maedhros going to greet them.

"Do I want to know?" Harry asked quietly. Maedhros smiled and lowered his voice so only the four of them could hear it.

"We will explain out of earshot of the vultures. I want to save the big scoop for rather later in the evening." Harry raised an eyebrow and turned to enter the building. As soon as they were somewhere a little out of the way the young man raised a privacy ward and looked demandingly at the pair. With an amused sigh Maedhros explained. The two blinked.

"Ron isn't going to take that well. He thought that Hermione would end up marrying him. He won't like finding out she's taken." Maedhros shrugged uncaringly.

"I still think Hermione could have done better than I but at least I know how to treat a lady properly, not as some sort of fall back option. It is not like he has spent the intervening year being faithful to her. He has no claim. He can dislike all he wants, he has no claim and no right to complain." Ginny and Harry both nodded, though the red haired girl smiled wryly at him.

"True, but it doesn't mean he isn't going to blow up anyway. He is often rather self centred." Hermione snorted at that. Ginny was being kind.

Indeed Ron scowled a lot as Hermione sat with Maedhros, evidently as a couple. He hadn't brought a girl, clearly having expected Hermione to provide a plus one without even being asked. He had clearly learnt nothing from the Yule ball.

Fairly quickly however he somehow acquired a vapid busty blond who clearly just wanted a piece of a war hero. He was obviously trying to make Hermione jealous with the girl slobbering all over him, which she and Maedhros found laughably funny considering she had come on the arm of an elven prince and founder of hogwarts who was an immortal, unaging beautiful male so much better than Ron that there wasn't a scale to measure the difference.

Her complete lack of reaction to his obvious tactic clearly annoyed Ron. That wasn't anything on what his reaction was when it came to the speeches and Maedhros was dragged up after Harry to make a speech as well.

He stood at the podium with a little smile on his face.

"I am afraid I am neither my brother nor my father, and do not have either's ability when addressing an audience, though I suppose you can be very thankful for the latter not being the person standing here. As I believe all of you know, I re-entered the wizarding world just under a year ago as I returned to check on the castle my friends and I had built when I was first sent here as penance for my crimes in another world. A castle we set up as a school to teach all how to use magic. My first act of penance, trying to use education to improve the lives of many. It was the Valar's idea of irony for Eru had intended them to teach the elves and then my kind to teach the humans that came after us but my father decided in his usual way that they were usurping our right to Arda while the Valar tried to control us by keeping us in the peaceful bliss of Valinor. I made the mistake of believing him and following him as he used the theft of the Silmarils as a final excuse to go and 'reclaim' Arda no matter that it was not his right to do so. So I was sent somewhere as far away from Valarin control as possible to help human and my first act was to provide them education, what I should have done in the first place.

My next crime was of dividing my people via killing them when they would not submit to my father's own opinion that he was more important simply by default of his birth. I returned to the wizarding world to find it divided as my late unlamented father had divided the elves, with those born to those with magic seeming to think that birth made them better than others and that they had the right to kill those they saw as beneath them. All I can say on that point is at least you had defeated those that followed such a view point and were already in the process of offering justice when I found out else you would not have seen the amiable founder of Hogwarts but Maedhros son of Feanor, Prince of the Noldor, Kinslayer that led armies through three cities killing all those I encountered in pursuit of my aim, the elf lord that would fight gods to fulfil my oath.

So to address what many see as the start of the war. I have addressed this many times in private but let me put it out in public record now. Salazar Slytherin, my friend, my first friend in this world, did dislike those born to none magical parents it is true. It is not for the rather specious reason many believe. The church of the day was not truly a thing of religion, of belief in god but a political entity to be used for power. Their hold on this isle was tenuous at the time, many holding on to either celtic or old norse paganism. Paganism which is still oft followed in the magical world. Many children had been brainwashed to believe paganism was the route to eternal damnation. The celtic element also added a strong element against magic beings such as elves. Many were told that the tuatha de, which they believed me to be a member of, would kidnap their women and seduce them with magic, or steal their children. Suffice to say I particularly did not get a good reception when trying to convince them to let us take their children to our school. I didn't particularly care either way for mortal insults. Salazar however took them to heart, much more offended than I ever was on my behalf. His objection had nothing to do with their blood status and all to do with their prejudice against us. Which is ironic all things considered." He paused to look round the captivated room.

"Now as many of you know I was told when I returned to your world and released of the terrible oath I swore that I could return to my home and I told the maia to come back in a decade when I had had chance to help the wizarding world to both rebuild and try to overhaul it enough to try and prevent it decending again into war. Those who where there will also remember a small exchange between Lord Eönwë and myself in Quenya, my native language. And now, here I shall explain.

When I was sent to this world I was granted one single boon to acknowledge that I was an unaging immortal surrounded by mortals. The Valar granted me that, should I find a lady and fall in love, marrying her then she would be made an elf herself so I would not have to suffer watching her age and die in a period of time that is but a blink of the eye to an elf. I tell you this now as I would like to announce that the Lady Hermione Granger has accepted my courtship and my request for her hand in marriage. We will be formally marrying at midsummer." There was stunned silence even as Hermione rose and came to him as he offered his arm to her and pulled her into his embrace.

Harry was the first to start clapping at the sight of the happy couple, followed by Ginny and then slowly the rest of the room, except Ron, who was scowling horrifically. He had at least learnt not to blast off in public. Hermione and Maedhros had no doubt there would be one hell of a bust up in private though.

As the clapping died down the elf prince had one more thing to say.

"A week before the wedding the Valar will be taking Hermione off to turn her into an elf and she will spend the time between then and the wedding with my mother in Valinor. My mother and any other elf who wishes to see me married will be returning with her for a short while to attend the wedding before returning to Valinor." He smiled at the stunned silence before leading Hermione off to their table, letting the minister take over.


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

Hermione was slightly white faced as she took the maia's hand and suddenly found herself in a place brighter than any she had seen before, and more beautiful. She stood in a circle of people that were impossibly gorgeous inside a courtyard ringed by slender, plant covered marble columns.

Eönwë bowed to the tallest of them, a male appearing being with an eagle resting on one shoulder. He then turn her so that she was facing the being opposite to the being of light she had just looked at to a darkly beautiful being with aramanthine eyes that regarded her quietly. He held out a hand and, stealing her courage, she took it.

"Welcome Nólëwen, formally Hermione Granger, to Valinor. I am Namo, one of the Feanturi, the Lord of the Soul. It falls to me to fulfil our promise and make you an elf, if you will come with me." She nodded, face pale. He smiled, face surprisingly gentle, and led her to a white silk covered bed. She noticed as she walked her clothes shimmered to a soft white gown that was impossibly comfortable. He bid her lie down gently.

Almost as soon as she lay down she found herself drifting to sleep never noting as all fourteen who had been waiting there to greet her surrounded the bed.

XXX

The Valar watched as the soul of the human girl rose out of her body, seeing it in a way they rarely saw the souls of the mirrowanwe, well except for Namo, who often saw the bare souls of elves. None of them had ever seen a human soul laid bare. Those went straight to wherever Eru took them after they departed their bodies.

Irmo held onto the soul as the human body it was attached to relaxed and then began to die. Once it was dead a maia took the body away as Namo stood there concentrating on forming a new elven form for the girl. The other Valar lent their power for usually when he made a new form for an elf to be reborn into it was simply a case of cloning their old form. This time he was creating one nearly from scratch.

He kept some element, features that worked well with an elven form. Her new form also had dark hair, and he decided to keep a wave there, though rather more manageable than her previous form's. No elves had hair anything other than straight hair but that Vala rather liked the way her hair had a bit more shape to it. Her eyes he also kept as brown though with a richer, almost gold hint to the colour. This new form was almost a foot taller than they old though and just a little bit better formed in terms of figure. Her cheekbones became more defined. With a hint of mischief he made sure that even by elven standards she was stunningly beautiful and would make waves where she stepped. He knew that this perfectly innocent girl, who he rather admired for her tenacity, who had come out as a wonderful person despite everything the world threw at her and a terrible hand in life, used to being looked over in terms of looks for her bookishness, would have a hard time simply because of who she had decided to marry. He rather felt for her, and the least he could do was make sure she turned heads for the rest of eternity. Not to mention it would be funny to see the looks on the snotty ladies' faces as Maedhros's wife (who many were already denigrating despite only knowing that she had decided to marry the kinslayer) when she walked into a room and outshone the lot. He wasn't overly fond of her husband but he definitely liked this girl.

Once he was done he nodded to his brother and the two put her soul in the new body watching as it began to breath and came back to life. They stepped back knowing it would be a short while before she woke up and she would most likely be rather creeped out to wake to find herself surrounded by all of the Valar. They stepped slightly to the side and Manwë smiled knowingly at Namo.

"Have fun?" He asked with amusement. The younger vala shrugged.

"It gives them one less thing to be rude about. And she deserves all the help she can get. Maedhros is one lucky elf." The elder king laughed softly and turned in the direction of the bier as the elleth on it began to moved and sit up, rubbing her eyes. A maia turned up and solicitously helped her sit and offered her a drink. After several moments she was able to stand. Namo hid a smile as it became clear that the first thing she noticed about her new form was the increased height.

He went over and offered he his arm with a smile and the took it, still blinking as she became accustomed to her new body, and its vastly improved senses.

"Would you like a mirror?" He asked and smiled as she nodded, apparently not yet having found her voice. Several appeared, allowing her to take a good look at herself. The vala couldn't help grinning at her expression, far more open then that of most elves.

It was only once she seemed to have at least mostly accustomed herself to her new form (as much as she was going to within the next few hours anyway) that he took her arm again and led her through the gardens to where three elves were waiting. The only ellon was red haired and bearded, with a circlet of copper round his brow. Beside him were two elleth, one with rich brown hair and the other, a seemingly younger but not young elf, with rich red hair, almost auburn. Hermione was pretty sure she could work out who they were.

"Lady Nerdanel, this is your daughter in law, Nólëwen." The red haired elleth smiled brightly and drew Hermione into a hug, almost clinging to her.

"Welcome child, and please accept my deepest thanks for giving me back my son." Hermione smiled at her, and hugged back. Eventually the two separated and Nerdanel introduced her to her parents. They talked for some time, Hermione slowly becoming comfortable with her husbands family. After a some time Nerdanel smiled.

"We should probably go introduce you to the rest of the impatiently awaiting horde." Hermione raised a perfect eyebrow at her mother in law in question. "We decided to introduce you to a small number of us first before being presented to the rest of those eagerly awaiting meeting you."

"There are more people wanting to meet me?" Nerdanel smiled.

"A decent chunk of the Noldorin royal family for a start, for you are to be a member of the royal family. Findecano is particularly looking forward to meeting you, he ever did see Nelyafinwë as his otornor." Hermione nodded, recognising her beloved's Quenya name. If she remembered rightly Findecano was Fingon, firstborn son of Fingolfin/Nolofinwë, who Maedhros had given up the right of the title of High King in exile to. Otornor meant sworn brother and was equivalent to 'gwador' in Sindarin.

She took a deep breath.

"Okay, I'm as ready as I will ever be." Nerdanel smiled gently at her and took her arm.

Hermione was glad Nerdanel hadn't warned her about just how many of them there were – because there were a lot of them. At the sound of the door to the hall they had all been sat in opening they all turned to look. An elf with rich brown hair with hints of gold to it grinned and rose, ignoring the elf beside him that tried to hold him back even as he strode over, eyes sparkling.

He pulled Hermione into a brief hug.

"Well met! I am Fingon, or Findecano, whichever you prefer." She grinned at him, having heard stories of this elf from Maedhros.

"Fingon's less of a mouthful, and what Maedhros refers to you by." He grinned and raised an eyebrow.

"Maedhros has been telling tales?" She laughed.

"A decent chunk of what could be called our courtship involved him telling me interesting stories about the interesting things he's seen in his very long life." The elf raised an eyebrow.

"What passed for your courtship? You mean my dear cousin did not keep to proper courtship?" He sounded like a little brother looking for dirt to use. Hermione laughed.

"Apart from the fact I have no clue what you would refer to as proper courtship, I wasn't actually aware he was interested in me until he basically proposed in a distinctly roundabout way. And then started going on about he didn't know why I would want to marry him at which point I decided to shut him up by snogging him and it kinda went downhill from there. He only explained what the elves require to be considered married the morning after, when a certain mouthy maia sent a little note asking when to elf-ize me." Fingon snorted with laughter.

"He didn't?" the elf managed between laughs. Indeed a number of elves present seemed distinctly amused by this. A tall and thoroughly ancient looking blond smiled and came up to her, Fingon stepping aside respectfully for all that he still had laughter in his eyes.

That started off another round of introductions. The stunning and ancient blond was Ingwë, High King of the Elves. Then there was both Fingolfin, the elf who had tried to hold Fingon back and his wife Anairë, and then his younger brother and High King of the Noldor, Finarfin who preferred to be known as Arafinwë. His wife had stayed in Tirion to act as regent while most of the more senior bits of the royal house came to Ilmarin to greet their newest member. Interestingly enough Maglor, Maedhros's brother, was there apparently having already earned his forgiveness.

Eventually though all introductions were done and Ingwë quietly suggested that they go down the mountain so as to be back in his city, Vanyamar, at a sensible hour. Hermione suspected the High King rarely spoke in anything other than that soft, authoritative tone that immediately commanded respect.

By the time they got down the mountain side twilight was beginning to set in. It only enhanced the beauty of the city. Hemione smiled softly.

"Its beautiful." Ingwë smiled and nodded his thanks for the compliment on his city.

"You don't seem as awed as I would expect." Fingon commented, eyebrow raised enquiringly.

"I'm guessing you are basing my expectations of cities on your experience of humans in the first age?" He nodded. "I should mention then, that the city only short travelling distance from where I grew up has a population of nearly eight point seven million and an area of more than six hundred square miles, depending on how you measure the definition of its boundaries. This is a lot prettier but that's the only scale upon which it is awe inspiring. Otherwise it is barely bigger than what I would call a town." They were all staring at her in shock. It was Nerdanel who recovered her voice first.

"Surely you are mistaken?" Hermione smiled.

"Nope. Granted that is the capital city but its hardly our only city. We are not considered that large a country but we have roughly sixty five million people give or take. Places like America have much bigger populations. And bigger cities too, though I've never seen a picture of an American city I would call pretty. They seem to like building with glass, concrete and steel. Humanity where I come from is just a bit different from the ones you've met, who we would consider rather primitive." She had the slight satisfaction of seeing all of them shut up in shock. She was willing to be she would be a bit of a culture shock on the elves.

XXX

She quickly found out the Valar were going to mess with time. She might be arriving back only a week after she had left but she was staying in Valinor for significantly longer. After several days in Vanyamar (she only lost her temper once and only silenced an arrogant elleth making rude comments about her choice of mate, to the general badly concealed amusement of a number of people watching on) they had ridden to Tirion via Valmar where they had again stopped for a few days before going onwards. When they got to Tirion Earwen, Arafinwë wife, insisted on giving Hermione a crash course in being a princess of the Noldor. Despite the fact it was obvious the lady had no lost love for Hermione's mate she seemed to have taken to Hermione herself.

"I know a little of what you are going through – the Lindar particularly back then were very isolated from the other realms of Aman and I spent a lot of time not quite sure what to do when I first married Arafinwë. Granted I had at least been raised a princess but I can sympathise." She had said and then gone on, between teaching Hermione everything she needed to know, to rant how, even if Maedhros did know current etiquette and suchlike that he wasn't likely to teach it since he had never seemed to care when he had been in Aman. And between this crash course were dress fittings (She apparently was having an entire wardrobe made fit for a princess) and dealing with the 'vapid vultures' as Nerdanel still called them. She had earned the amused approval of much of the court when one elf was having a rant at her that she'd politely tried to deflect more than once and she got fed up, turning him into and honest-to-god toad. The elves didn't get the reference but it didn't stop them finding it funny. Apparently the elf was not popular.

Eventually though everything was ready and so the Valar returned them to Hogwarts the day before the wedding itself.

XXX

Maedhros waited with Hermione's friends (including a thoroughly brow beaten Ron who had only sort of accepted Hermione was well and truly taken) impatiently and with not a small amount of nerves. Then in front of the group began to shimmer, a much larger area than he had though necessary as the group of elves materialised under the power of the Valar.

He gaped openly as he saw the size of the group and who was in it. He honestly had expected, other than Hermione, his mother, maybe his grandparents and Fingon but no more. To see most of the Noldorin Royal family, and the High King and his wife also there, plus the odd lord he had once been close to. He thought he could see some of his oath bound from Arda as well, shocking him to the core. This many people cared enough to come to his wedding?

He was shaken out of his shock by a flying hug. He automatically hugged back, his soul recognising his mate. After some moments she pulled back and grinned as his jaw dropped again.

"I missed you." She whispered as the elf hugged her then grinned at his facial expression when he got a good look at her.

"Come on gwador, surely becoming an elf hasn't changed her appearance that much?" Maedhros looked round to see Fingon grinning at him, Maglor standing beside the elf and rolling his eyes and the seemingly hyper elf prince. Maedhros grinned and solved the problem of which to hug first by simply hugging both at the same time, earning a slight 'oof' of pain from his brother. Hermione just laughed, eyes twinkling as she saw her friends gaping at her in shock, particularly Ron. Her perfectly formed elven lips twisted slightly at that. He hadn't endeared himself to her since the announcement of her relationship with Maedhros.

Soon Maedhros was engaged in greeting all of those who had come to see him wed and then introducing them to the Hogwarts party, who were suitably awed by the party of stunning elves. To Hermione's vast amusement at one poin she heard someone sigh and mutter.

"And every single last one is taken!" The tone was incredibly regretful. She knew looking at the dancing eyes of the elves around her that they had all heard and understood.

XXX

Nerdanel smiled softly at Hermione as she finished putting the finishing touches to Hermione's wedding outfit. The two had grown close in the time they had spent together in Valinor, sharing in their dislike of the insipid females of court and love of Maedhros.

They were using a variant on the elven marriage ceremony that had been introduced to the wizarding world by Maedhros as Godric Gryffindor and so in an unusual move, Nerdanel was standing with Hermione in place of her mother.

The lawn outside the castle was packed with guests, the elven party at the front as the main guests of honour, though Harry, several surviving members of the DA and a few VIP's of the wizarding world were there, as well as some of Maedhros's colleagues from Australia.

Neither elf remembered much of the ceremony, or the party after it, or for that matter the amused and tolerant looks shared between many of the guests, particularly those of the elven kind. Nerdanel quietly herded them through the public parts of the day and was the one to finally inform them that they were allowed to sneak off when they had stayed long enough. They couple barely managed a thank you before they vanished off.

XXX

The elven wedding party were allowed to stay a little while and were given a quick crash course in the world that Maedhros had spent his penance in. The wizards were suitably awed by the beautiful elves and Kingsley as Minister of Magic welcomed them as his first formal international visit. The Kings had greeted the man with all the grace Hermione had come to expect of the two, though she could see that they were shocked, never having seen a person with dark skin. She couldn't help noticing they reacted a lot better to the ethnic diversity than many humans did.

All the same they were gone fairly quickly, Nerdanel, Fingon and Mahtan particularly giving emotional farewells and admonishments to delay no more than the presently stated time in the two coming to Valinor.

Over the years, between sorting out the wizarding world, they prepared for the move. While in Valinor Hermione had talked the Valar into allowing her to travel between Valinor and Britain to allow them to set up house properly. She and Nerdanel had arranged a nice sized house on Mahtan's estate out in the Southern Fifedoms, the breadbasket of Valinor for her and Maedhros to live on. Now she was setting it up so they had a ready house for the eventual move.

The Valar had posed some restriction, things like 'no computers or other modern technology' to be brought across, but since most of what they wanted to take across were books and keepsakes, that wasn't a problem (though Maedhros had mischievously included a book that fully explained how cameras worked so he could work with his grandfather to make an elven version when in Valinor).

Eventually though the wizarding world was as good as it was ever going to be through their work.

When they announced that they would be leaving permanently Kinsley, now nearing the end of his second term as Minister, announced a large farewell ball for the two. They had smiled tolerantly and stated clearly that they would show up, but only hand chosen close friends would be with them the morning after when they left.

The ball had been sumptuous and the sentiments expressed genuine, for the two were both loved and respected.

The next morning broke spectacularly, neither elf having slept but simply staying up to watch the dawn light up behind the unusually active northern lights that sparkled across the Scottish sky.

As the view faded they turned to their bathroom to clean themselves up and change into the elven clothing Nerdanel had sent back with Hermione on her last trip especially for this day.

Once they were done they proceeded down to breakfast in the great hall and ate with the students of Hogwarts, as well as the teachers and their close friends.

Once the meal was done they all exited the castle. The students formed a ring far enough out to allow a little privacy in the farewells between the two and elves and their loved ones even as they went to that spot where, ten years previously, Harry had challenged Maedhros about his identity.

Just as they finished bidding everyone farewell Eönwë appeared out of thin air with an enigmatic smile on his face.

"Are you ready to return home now?" He asked quietly. They both smiled and nodded.

The maia held out his hand and the two elves held out their free hands, taking the maia's even as they held each other's hands tightly forming a circle. The Northern lights flared enough that they could be seen even in daylight and suddenly neither elves nor maia were there any more.

XXX

Maedhros drew in a deep breath as he looked around, recognising the estate he had spent many a happy week away from the Noldorin court in when visiting his grandparents. He looked around, eyes wide. He'd forgotten how beautiful Aman was.

It took some time of just staring at the scenery and taking in the wonderful aura of the blessed land to really notice anything else. That something else was the look of loving affecting from his mother as his wife continued to hold his hand supportively.

Nerdanel smiled at him and held open her arms to him, laughing as he hugged her and spun her up in the air.

"Welcome home my son." She whispered to him as he dropped her into a hug, before pulling Hermione in as well.

Home, that was a word he'd never expected to truly apply to him again, but here in Valinor with his lovely wife, it felt like he truly had one for the first time in so very long.

The elf let out a soft sigh of pure contentment.

Fin.


End file.
